


Heartbeat

by Bookwormivy



Category: Helix Waltz (Video Game)
Genre: Barbalius has feelings and he's not sure how to process them, F/M, Happy Ending, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 14:51:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17082392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookwormivy/pseuds/Bookwormivy
Summary: Three times Magda made Barbalius truly feel his heartbeat.





	Heartbeat

I.

The first time Barbalius laid eyes on Magda, he knew. She had a way of dragging all the attention to her, even from people who seemed to dislike her. Jealousy was never an easy emotion to disguise and most of the noble ladies didn’t seem to know how to process it. He turned from her and scanned the room. He had a mission to accomplish, even if his hope that it would be quick was slowly dissipating. No beautiful girl with bright blue eyes could distract him from that.  
  
Someone softly clearing their throat behind him drew his mind from the Saint. He appreciated that they hadn’t touched him. Too many ladies had touched his arm and fluttered their eyelashes at him. It made him want to scream. He turned towards the sound and paused. Bright blue eyes met his shyly. Panic filled his brain and words started flowing out of his mouth while he tried to process being approached by the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  
  
Eventually, his brain started to focus on the conversation and he had to suppress a wince at his words. “A noble lady who dresses herself like a country girl” was hardly the best way to make a good first impression. Luckily, Magda seemed to take it in stride. His chest hurt for a moment when he thought about everything that must’ve been flung her way. Nobles were such a petty bunch and they always did their best to break someone down rather than face true competition. The conversation flowed for what felt like a very short period of time before she was sweeping away.  
  
As Barbalius watched her go, his heart started to beat a little faster. _Ba-bump._

II.

It was impossible _not_ to hear the noble ladies gossiping about Barbalius. He wasn’t ashamed of not coming from a noble family, but he couldn’t help the sick feeling that accompanied hearing them. Why did everyone want him to be ashamed of where he came from? Why did it matter so much when he had accomplished things noble sons had not? Truly, the only downside he could see was that everyone seemed to be against the marriage between a noble and a civilian. Mag- no, he couldn’t allow his thoughts to go down that track.  
  
A soft voice interrupted his thoughts and drew his attention towards the noble ladies. The sight took his breath away for a moment. There Magda was, practically glowing with a quiet fury while she defended him. Watching her, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was perhaps a more personal reason she was defending him. He was aware that she defended everyone who was spoken poorly of, but it made him feel a bit better to imagine that she did it because she cared about him.  
  
He approached her when she finally scared the women away and cleared his throat carefully. She turned and blushed softly when their eyes met. The fury seemed to drain from her body as she studied his face. He tried not to blush under her scrutiny. It was one thing to have his supervisor study his face for emotion and another thing entirely to have her look at him.  
  
Barbalius felt like he was floating for the whole conversation. He was logically aware that he spent most of the time assuring her that he didn’t care about what the rumors and gossip said, but most of his attention was focused on the concerned look in her eyes. He felt painfully aware that a lot of the gossip about Magda put her down and painted her as a social-climbing leech who used everyone to claw her way to the top. Maybe that personal reason she defended him was because she knew how awful hearing some of the gossip felt. That thought made his stomach twist, so he pushed it aside and continued to focus on her.  
  
Watching her leave seemed to get harder every time, although his heart didn’t seem to know that. _Ba-bump_.

III.

Barbalius still couldn’t believe it. His status was never an obstacle until he met Magda. Perhaps the better thing to say was it was never an obstacle until he met Lady Ellenstein. When he met her, he had never felt so small and insignificant. She had questioned Magda at length about his civilian status until Magda looked her head in the eyes and said something he had hardly dared to hope for: “Mother, I’m going to marry him anyways.”  
  
Lady Ellenstein had looked upset, but Magda had laid down all the benefits of marrying him. It had felt almost cold and calculated until he caught her eye. The love and adoration poured out of her. His heart missed a beat before it started pounding like he had just fought a battle.  
  
A soft clearing of the throat brought his attention to Alan. The captain smiled at him and tilted his head towards the aisle. Barbalius turned and felt all the breath leave his body.  
Magda floated down the aisle towards him. He was sure that she had spent a long time on her dress, but he was captivated by her face. The love displayed so openly in her eyes made him want to fall to his knees in front of her. When she finally reached him, it felt like the Goddess had blessed him. Cleric Pan’s words ringed dimly in his ears as they moved through the ceremony until Magda turned more fully towards him.  
  
“You may now kiss the bride.” Cleric Pan’s words rang out. Barbalius’ heart started beating faster as he leaned closer and softly kissed Magda. It was as if time had frozen and also sped up. Tingling spread from his lips and warmth filled his chest. She was everything he had ever dreamed of and, after finally managing to pull himself away and look at her, he knew he had made the right choice in letting her behind his walls. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed against him, hiding her face as everyone cheered for them. He felt his heartbeat synchronize with hers and it felt like a missing puzzle piece had finally been found.  
  
_Ba-bump, ba-bump._

**Author's Note:**

> I am so soft for Barbalius, I won't lie. I'm sorry for the lack of dialogue, I couldn't remember 99.98% of what they said during the two scenes I pulled from the game. I hope y'all enjoyed it! Feel free to come scream with me about Helix Waltz on my Tumblr and Twitter, both of which are the same as my username.


End file.
